With 0.5 jobs for every working resident, most of Gower works elsewhere
There are 323 jobs in Gower for 710 working residents. For jobs and income Gower is better than 49% of U.S. towns (B−); for walkability it is more walkable than 64% of U.S. towns (B). Only 7% work in Gower; the top destination outside it is Kansas City (19%, 34 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from Gower, in brief
Gower’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Gower is Kansas City, 34 miles away as the crow flies. 19% of working residents (133) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Gower
63% of Gower residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 42% of the jobs based in Gower pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 93% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Gower workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 29 minutes each way, against 24 across Missouri. Over a year that’s about 222 hours of commuting, 38 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey; with 710 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Gower
Household income holds Gower’s grade up ($83,750, U.S. $80,734); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 42% of U.S. towns).
Unemployment (2.1%) is left out: Gower’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Gower could be anywhere from C− to A−.
How far Gower goes to work
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
In Gower, services account for most jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Gower, 2013 → 2023: 292 → 323. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.
Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2023.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Gower’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How long Gower spends getting to work: about 29 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Gower workers work from home, vs 13% across Missouri. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 681 commuters (the 7% who work from home are left out). Across Missouri: 86% drive alone, 1% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
The daily flow of workers through Gower
On a workday 660 residents head out to work, 50 work right here, and 273 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,100 people are in Gower on a workday afternoon, 26% fewer than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
The places Gower commutes to
Where Gower clocks in
19% of workers
18% of workers
4% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
In Gower, most people drive to work
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 735 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 4.0% of Gower households have no vehicle (Missouri 6.6%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Gower’s commuters take a bus or train.
Gower places 1,999th of 5,397 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 1,100 to 2,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Somerset MD | 1,151 | $250K | 1.9% | 2.3% | <1% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Bellerose NY | 1,169 | $232K | 1.6% | 6.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 14 | Warson Woods MO | 1,990 | $207K | 1.3% | 1.8% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 53 | Lake Winnebago MO | 1,869 | $179K | 1.0% | 0.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 90 | LaBarque Creek MO | 1,457 | $133K | 1.1% | 1.7% | <1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,997 | Woodland Park NE | 1,657 | $74K | 7.1% | 0.0% | 1% | B− |
| 1,998 | Bunker Hill IL | 1,593 | $76K | 10.5% | 5.0% | 9% | B− |
| 1,999 | Gower MO | 1,514 | $84K | 10.9% | 2.1% | 7% | B− |
| 2,000 | Boulder MT | 1,305 | $73K | 3.8% | 6.9% | 3% | B− |
| 2,001 | Hampton NJ | 1,443 | $67K | 12.4% | 4.8% | 1% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 5,397 | Paraje NM | 1,333 | $33K | 61.7% | 0.0% | 0% | D− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Gower, the top three, the last and three more from Missouri.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Gower: questions
What is the median household income in Gower?
$83,750 (±$21,297) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $70,702 across Missouri and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Gower?
10.9%, against 12.6% across Missouri and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Gower?
29 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Missouri and 26 nationally. 7% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Gower work?
7% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Kansas City (19%, 34 mi), St. Joseph (18%, 16 mi), Smithville (4%, 15 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Gower walkable?
Gower is more walkable than 64% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 7.7 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Gower without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Gower, from the people who make the trip.
More of Gower
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.